adminAuxilia Katongomara Chronicle Reporter
BULAWAYO businessman Dumisani Mutorera’s fraud case in which he is alleged to have duped city socialite Mike Marata in a car deal has been withdrawn before plea due to lack of evidence. Court records show that the case was withdrawn before Bulawayo magistrate Charity Maphosa.
Detectives from the fraud section arrested Mutorera, 44, of Romney Park suburb at the Joshua Mqabuko International Airport just after his arrival from South Africa in July.
Allegations against Mutorera were that on May 8 this year, he sold a non-runner Mercedes Benz C180, to Marata for $9,500, misrepresenting it as a runner.
“Mutorera told Marata that the vehicle was at Manica Freight in Beitbridge awaiting clearance,” the court heard. The two allegedly agreed that Marata was going to clear and collect the motor vehicle.
“On July 15, Marata went to Manica Freight, Beitbridge intending to collect the motor vehicle and discovered that the motor vehicle in question was a non-runner with no ignition keys and some engine parts missing.The motor vehicle was a non-runner from Durban where it was bought and was accompanied with a form indicating defects of the motor vehicle,” prosecutors said.
Mutorera, through his lawyers Shepherd Chamunorwa of Calderwood, Bryce Hendrie and Partners and Byron Sengweni of Mcijo Dube and partners, on his initial appearance stated that the matter was civil and the two parties had agreed to settle it out of court.
Mutorera runs Club Forty40 and ChyCry Trading which sells cars on commission.
Online Reporter